July 2010

July 31, 2010

Dez Bryant watched Saturday afternoon's practice at the shoulder of receivers coach Ray Sherman. Bryant wore a walking boot on his right ankle, which he sprained during Friday's practice. The Cowboys have said the injury will take 4-6 weeks to heal. They are hoping it's closer to four, so he can play the last preseason game against Miami Sept. 2.

As Bryant limped to the locker room Saturday, he was asked if he would be back for the season opener Sept. 12. "I should be," Bryant said. He was then asked when he thought he would be back. "Not sure," he said.

Defensive end Jason Hatcher was back at practice on a limited basis. He was wearing a brace on his left elbow, which he hyperextended in a recent practice.

"It felt pretty good," Hatcher said. "They told me to go individual [drills] and kind of work my way back in. Monday, I'll get in there and mix it up a little bit and see how it feels."

Hatcher was injured when he tried to grab running back Felix Jones.

"I had Leonard Davis pushing on my back, and I reached out to tackle Felix Jones, and he ran through my arm," Hatcher said. "It was just one of those freak things."

The Cowboys have been hit hard by injuries in the defensive line. Sean Lissemore (strained groin) and Josh Brent (hand) still are out. Brent is scheduled to have a cast put on his hand Sunday, coach Wade Phillips said. The Cowboys cut defensive end Lorenzo Washington, who couldn't get on the field because of a hamstring injury, and signed Jimmy Saddler-McQueen as a camp body.

Feature story in the Star-Telegram on Sunday about Doug Free, who will be the only new starter on the Cowboys offense. Free started seven games at right tackle in place of the injured Marc Colombo last year and played so well that the Cowboys released five-time Pro Bowler Flozell Adams in the off-season and gave the left tackle job to Free.

Free said that starting last year, "Helped a bunch getting some experience. Not a
great way to step in having a teammate get hurt, but it worked out real well for
me, getting some experience, getting me out there. I don’t really know what
the coaches expected from me last year, but I tried my hardest and it
definitely helped."

A source close to Dez Bryant said the first-round pick is shooting to return for the Sept. 2 game against the Miami Dolphins. Not only does Bryant want to get on the field before the regular season starts, but he would like to show Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland something. Ireland was forced to apologize to Bryant after it became public knowledge that he had asked Bryant during a pre-draft interview whether Bryant's mother was a prostitute.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Saturday that, in the best-case scenario, Bryant will miss only four weeks with a high-ankle sprain. He could miss the entire preseason. Bryant was injured when Orlando Scandrick fell on him while Bryant was trying to catch a pass thrown behind him late in Friday's practice.

"He's young. He's strong," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "It just depends on how fast he heals. Some guys heal faster than other guys. It's going to be two weeks, and I think we'll know a lot more. The first two weeks are the healing process. You stabilize it, and it starts to heal back. Then, we'll start to see where it is then."

Bryant had been the star of their training camp, catching almost everything throw his way, including some circus catches. But they would have liked to have seen him play in the five preseason games just to get some game time under his belt.

"It stops his progress a little bit," Phillips said. "It is good that we had him and he got to work into the offense. He didn't have much problem as far as knowing what to do. A few little detail things that he needed to adjust to, but he ran the routes well. He has a good concept of what we're trying to do. I think Tony has confidence in him. When Tony saw him one-on-one, he got him the football. He knows and is comfortable in that area.

"Even though he's a young guy, he's such a good player that you wouldn't play him a whole lot in preseason. You'd like to play him some more than we're going to get to. He has natural running ability, so I don't think that's going to be hurt any like kick returns and run after the catch."

Bryant has not played a game since Sept. 19 against Rice. He was suspended for lying to NCAA investigators and played in only three games last season at Oklahoma State.

"It is very important [to play in the preseason]," receivers coach Ray Sherman said. "First of all, you get the butterflies out, because you get the chance to go against other competition, different teams and get in that work. Then, when you go into the season, you'll have the butterflies, but at least you've gone against different teams to get yourself ready. If you miss all of the preseason, it's going to be a little different because the nerves will be 100 miles an hour in the first regular-season game. In the preseason, you have a chance to see what it's going to see what it's going to be like. When you hit the regular season, then that level goes up a couple of notches. So things are going to happen a lot quicker. Those are the things that he's going to have to be ready for and be able to adjust to."

If there was one preseason game Dez Bryant was looking forward to playing in this season, it was the final one against the Dolphins. He had been looking forward to that matchup ever since the controversy with Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland broke right after the draft over questions about his mother.

Bryant's status for that game is in doubt now that he has a high ankle sprain and it is sidelined for four-to-six weeks. The Cowboys are conseratively hoping he will be ready for the season opener against the Redskins.

However, sources close to Bryant say he's a fast healer and believe he will be ready much sooner than the opener. More pointedly, it's their wish that he be ready to go for the preseason final against Miami so he can take care of some unfinished business.

Although Jerry Jones was has been quoted saying that he
thought Dez Bryant might have too large of a workload in practice with playing
offense and receiving punts and kickoffs, Jones said today that he was not
criticizing head coach Wade Phillips.

“I'm not being critical,” Jones said. “What I'm being is analytical,
or trying to be analytical. This is when you all sit down and look at
everything you're doing and see if there's some things you can do to help
protect your team better, especially during this time five-six weeks away from the opening game.”

Bryant, who was hurt on the next to the last play in
practice Friday, will miss four to six weeks with a high ankle sprain. If he is
out six weeks, he will miss the entire preseason.

When the Cowboys drafted Bryant in the first round of the
2010 draft, Patrick Crayton skipped several non-mandatory practices and asked
to be traded. Jones was asked if the Bryant injury guarantees Crayton will be on the team.

“I don't want to go there,” Jones said. “He's on the team.
he's got a contract, and that's been my stance from the very beginning. He's
there.”

July 30, 2010

The injury to receiver Dez Bryant was clearly a huge disappointment for owner Jerry Jones, who was as excited about Bryant performance so far and potential as anyone.

He lamented the fact that Bryant was injured late in practice but he said he was not upset at the coaches for having him out there.

Still he said the Cowboys will continue to look for ways to mitigate potential injuries.

Regarding the injury, Jones said the good news is that it was a classic and clear high ankle sprain with no other structural damage.

"It's nothing complicated, nothing out of the ordinary about the high ankle sprain," Jones said. "It was a textbook high ankle from what we saw on the MRI. He ought to be able to stay off of it without surgery and get back out there. He will be in the walking boot for a week to 10 days. Four to six weeks is the standard. We will see how long it will be."

Receiver Dez Bryant has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and will be sidelined four-to-six weeks, the Cowboys announced late Friday afternoon.

The Cowboys were hoping for better news when Bryant limped off the field following a collision with cornerback Orlando Scandrick. But a magnetic resonance imaging exam after practice confirmed a high ankle sprain, possibly sidelining him for the entire preseason.

It's a huge setback for the Cowboys and the rookie first round pick, who had a great start to training camp and was hoping to push Roy Williams for the starting job opposite Miles Austin. At worst Bryant was going to be the team's third receiver and the primary kick and punt returner.

Now not only is Williams' starting job safe but perhaps Patrick Crayton's spot on the roster if Bryant sits out the entire preseason. Crayton was the team's third receiver and primary punt returner last year.

Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant suffered an ankle injury when he collided with Orlando Scandrick during team drills at the end of practice Friday at the Alamodome.

Bryant had to be helped off the field. A magnetic resonance imaging exam is scheduled for later tonight.

Cowboys vice-president Stephen Jones said it looks like the injury will force Bryant to miss some practice time.

Bryant has been the talk of camp recently for refusing to carry the shoulder pads of Roy Williams as part of a rookie ritual.

However, Friday's injury is a setback for the former Oklahoma State star who signed his contract and reported to camp on time in order to get a fast start in getting in tune with his new teammates and the offense.